The paleo diet, without meat?

Quinoa with milk counts as paleo? A new take by longtime proponents of the diet is sure to stir up controversy.

Quinoa with milk counts as paleo? A new take by longtime proponents of the diet is sure to stir up controversy. (Westend61 / Getty Images)

Monica EngChicago Tribune

Boyd Eaton was paleo long before paleo was cool. In 1988, the retired physician and professor authored "The Paleolithic Prescription" (a book advocating the diet and lifestyle of our Stone Age ancestors). At that time, few could imagine our coming obsession with primal diets, Bulletproof coffee, bison jerky and CrossFit gyms.

And that just makes his recent pronouncement all the more shocking: Eaton says it's time for paleo followers to ditch the meat — the chief ingredient of the traditional paleo diet.

"I am convinced that we have a real problem with sustainability," he said during a recent chat. "Raising and feeding beef and other forms of animal protein is just non-sustainable."

I met Eaton at a November conference sponsored by the Boston-based Oldways nutrition nonprofit. There some of the world's top nutrition experts had gathered to try to reach a consensus on what constitutes a healthy diet. The scientists ranged from pro-paleos like Eaton to vegan advocates like Colin Campbell ("The China Study") — and many scientists in between. But what might've turned into a smackdown between carnivory and veganism ended up with far more agreement than debate.

When Eaton got up to present his case for an ideal diet, he did argue the health benefits of animal protein. But then he shocked attendees by suggesting that we forgo those benefits and, instead, turn to mostly plant proteins.

"That would be desirable, not necessarily for health reasons," he said, "but because it's so much better for the environment and the sustainability of our planet."

Although the idea of paleo veganism/vegetarianism can seem like a bit of punch line — or at least an oxymoron — the concept is not as contradictory as it might sound. And, in recent years, it's even grown some legs. Witness the birth of at least three cookbooks ("The Paleo Vegetarian Diet," "Paleo Vegan" and "Plant Based Paleo") in the last 20 months, and a recent announcement by American physician and author Mark Hyman that he has become a "pegan," or paleo vegan.

I called Hyman to ask him about his conversion, and he admitted that it started as a bit of a conceptual joke.

"I was at a conference panel with two other doctors — one was paleo and the other vegan — and I sitting in the middle," he explained. "So I joked that I must be a pegan because I practice elements of both."

But his point ended up be fairly serious and he wrote a whole pegan blog post outlining the rules. Hyman says he sees peganism as a way to bridge the contentious paleo-vegan divide by focusing on what paleo and veganism have in common.

"Basically I came up with this concept that tries to look at diet in a more holistic way," Hyman says. "I wanted to look at the things we all share and not so much on what's different."

He notes that both philosophies emphasize a lot of nuts and vegetables and, often, a move away from highly processed foods and dairy.

But there is one honking central conflict: Traditional paleo's main sources of protein (animal products) are forbidden in veganism; and traditional veganism's main sources of protein (legumes and grains) are forbidden to strict paleos.

That's why peganism involves a little cheating on both sides.

Eaton explains that those who are in relatively good shape, show good blood work and don't suffer from chronic disease can practice a "weak form" of paleo, which allows some protein-rich whole grains, such as quinoa and amaranth, and low-fat dairy.

And both Eaton and Hyman see room for small amounts of meat in such a diet — but from pastured, sustainable and preferably wild sources. Don't let the fact that pegan rhymes with vegan fool you.

In the end, these diet plans end up looking a lot like the flexitarian diet, or Mark Bittman's "Vegan Before 6" method, or more broadly "reducetarianism" — any attempt to reduce meat in the diet.

But as someone so seminal in the paleo movement, does Eaton worry that his stance will be seen as betrayal or heresy?

"I figure my position in the paleo movement is sufficient and I don't care who contradicts me," he says. "I can defend the comments I'm making. To my mind, the sustainability concept outweighs the theoretical advantage of animal protein compared to plant protein."

I ran these comments by the highly influential Colorado State University professor and "Paleo Diet" author Loren Cordain. He offered the following by email.

"Dr. Eaton is my mentor, my hero, my friend and a brilliant mind who introduced the groundbreaking concept of 'Paleolithic Nutrition' to the contemporary scientific community. … As Boyd has frequently mentioned, his idea will be modified and refined as more and more data become available," he wrote, but went on to cite several scientific papers about the percentage of plant food versus animal food (up to 65 percent) that was likely part of hunter-gatherer diets. "Accordingly, any recommendation to avoid animal protein is inconsistent with the ethnographic data of our hunter-gatherer ancestry," he concluded.

When I pushed for his take on Boyd's sustainability comments, he replied that sustainability was not his field of expertise.

Boyd says he considers Cordain a close friend, but remains convinced that reducing animal products in our diets benefits the planet. Many scientific studies also back this up.

Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune

Butternut squash is roasted with sherry and maple syrup until caramelized. Before serving, reheat the dish and toss with blue cheese, rosemary and pomegranate seeds.

Butternut squash is roasted with sherry and maple syrup until caramelized. Before serving, reheat the dish and toss with blue cheese, rosemary and pomegranate seeds.

(Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

When I asked what kinds of meals Eaton had in mind for such a regime, he suggested some of the meals we ate at the Oldways conference. They included hummus, lentils, roasted beets with walnuts, falafel, saffron rice with pistachios, roasted butternut squash with tahini, Greek yogurt and berries, miso soups and turkey meatballs.

"I think (strict paleo followers) and I worry about the exactly the same conundrum," he says. "We feel like we are genetically better set up for animal protein, but it's a non-starter in terms of our sustainability considerations. So I think we have to compromise by getting most of our protein from plants."

Getting complete proteins from plant foods is not as complicated as might seem, he adds.

"Really anybody who eats a whole lot of varied vegetable and plant source foods is getting an acceptable protein and amino acid composition to their meal," he says. "It's not rocket science. You just have to eat a lot of different plant and vegetable sources."

Monica Eng is a food and health reporter for WBEZ. She was an invited panelist at the Oldways "Finding Common Ground" conference and, as such, her travel was paid for by the nonprofit organizers.

A version of this article appeared in print on February 17, 2016, in the Food & Dining section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Is it really a paleo diet if there is no meat?" —
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